Indian School of Public Policy and Cheistha Kochhar Foundation Celebrate Behavioural Innovation at the Inaugural Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards

New Delhi [India], August 12: On 10 August 2026, at the India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi, the Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP), in partnership with the Cheistha Kochhar Foundation, hosted the Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards 2026, bringing together policymakers, behavioural scientists, academics, entrepreneurs, and public leaders to celebrate innovative applications of behavioural science and nudging that address real-world public policy and development challenges.

The evening paid tribute to the life and legacy of Cheistha Kochhar, a pioneering public policy professional whose work helped advance the application of behavioural insights and evidence-based policymaking within India’s public institutions. Through the awards, ISPP and the Cheistha Kochhar Foundation seek to encourage practical, evidence-based behavioural innovations that create measurable public impact. Behavioural insights, often referred to as “nudges,” use evidence from psychology and behavioural economics to design small changes that help people make better decisions without restricting choice.

The programme was attended by Chief Guest Dr. Ashok Lahiri, Hon’ble Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog, and Guests of Honour Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag (Retd.), Former Chief of the Army Staff and Former High Commissioner of India to Seychelles, and Prof. (Dr.) Pulkit Khanna, Dean, Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences. The evening featured opening remarks by Luis Miranda, Chairperson & Co-Founder, ISPP, followed by a special address by Lt. Gen. Dr. S. P. Kochhar, Director General, COAI, reflecting on Cheistha Kochhar’s life, work, and legacy.

Addressing the gathering, Dr. Ashok Lahiri, Hon’ble Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog, said:

“The most important lesson that behavioural economics has taught me is that we should be more concerned about not what a rational choice should be, but how people actually behave.”

The evening also featured a panel discussion on “The Future of Nudging: Behavioural Economics and Public Impact in India,” moderated by Prof. Sujoy Chakravarty, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University. The discussion, featuring Biju Dominic, Ruby Sinha, and Rama Shankar Pandey, explored the growing role of behavioural economics in public policy, governance, service delivery, and citizen engagement.

The Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards 2026 recognised three changemakers whose initiatives demonstrated the application of behavioural insights to improve public outcomes:

• ThinkZone, represented by Binayak Acharya: PRAKASHAK, a government-embedded digital parental engagement program in Odisha that delivers bite-sized, curriculum-aligned micro-learning activities to rural, low-income parents via WhatsApp, SMS, and automated calls to boost foundational literacy and numeracy.
• NammaKasa, represented by Jyothish V.M.: A frictionless, public civic-tech platform in Bengaluru that changes the default of civic reporting from private to public accountability, enabling citizens to report uncollected waste in under 30 seconds without downloading an app or creating an account.
• Project Mumbai, represented by Shishir Joshi: Plastic Recyclothon, a large-scale community recycling movement across Maharashtra that bridges the intent-to-action gap by establishing clear, scheduled plastic collection drives and turning recycled waste into public amenities like park benches and bins.

Each awardee received a cash prize of ₹10 lakh in recognition of their impactful work and commitment to behavioural innovation for public good.

The Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards aim to create a platform for recognising and encouraging excellence in behavioural science and nudging. By celebrating evidence-based innovations that improve public outcomes, the initiative seeks to inspire wider adoption of behavioural approaches across policy, governance, and social development, while carrying forward Cheistha Kochhar’s vision of thoughtful, evidence-based, and citizen-centric policymaking.

About the Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP)

The Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP) is India’s first design-thinking-led school of public policy, dedicated to building the next generation of policy leaders. Through its multidisciplinary postgraduate programmes, executive education, research centres and policy engagement initiatives, ISPP works to strengthen evidence-based policymaking and foster collaboration between government, industry, academia and civil society. The School is committed to developing practical solutions to complex public challenges and advancing informed public discourse on issues critical to India’s development.

About the Cheistha Kochhar Foundation

The Cheistha Kochhar Foundation carries forward the legacy of Cheistha Kochhar, an economist, researcher, policy professional and behavioural strategist committed to public and social good. Founded in her memory, the Foundation advances her vision through initiatives in education, gender equity, behavioural science, social impact research, community welfare and organisational behaviour, with a focus on creating a more inclusive, equitable and compassionate society.

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